Addressing-machine.



G. J. EVANS.

ADDRESSiNG MACHINE.

nPPLlc/xmu FILED APR. 23. 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l 3f fz/ 23 ,235@ I@ Z5 INVENTDR v mf r Fi l.

G. J. EVANS.

ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLiCATION FILED APR. 23. 1915. Lwm. A Patented Jan. 15,1918.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

ATTD RNB/5.

GUY J. Evans, or serrano, new Yoan.

ADDR-ESSLN G-MACHINE.

,casser Application filed pril 273,

machine which is more particularly designed t`or printing addresses on envelops. letter heads and tie like b v vpressing nih through a stencil wlnle the latter 1s applied 'to the article to lie addressed.

It is the object ot' this` invention to pro.-

,duce a machine ot' this character whereby such addressing mayv be etr'ected conveniently and expeditiouslvl which is simple --an end elevation ot the same.

and compact in construction and eiiicient in operation. and which can be produced at comparatively low` cost.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 isa top plan view of lan addressing ma chine embodying in v invention. Fig is Fig. 3 1s a bottom plan view thereof. Fig. l is a `vertical transverse section of the machine ltaken on line l-L l ig. 1. Fig. is a vertical longitudinal sectiont-ahen on the cor responding-lv numbered line in Fig. 1. Fig,

6 is a vertical section taken on line 6-6,

Y Fig. 4. Figs. T and S are fragmentary vertical sections, on v"an enlarged scale. talien opnethe correspondingly numbered lines in Fig.. 5.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts tlmmghout the several views. i In its general organization this` machine is provided with means for supporting the article to be addressed at the printing` position. means for successively feeding stencils from a suppl)v stack to the printing position over the article to be addressed` and means-for producing an impression of the stencil on such articles. the inn'n-ession devices being operatively associated with the stencil `feeding mechanism. so that the latter is automatically actuated upon moving the impression device.

The frame of the machine which supports the working parts ma;7 be variously'con- .structed but as shown in the drawings the same :preferably comprises a horizontal table 1 arranged with its length in a direction transversely ofthe machine and pro.

Avided at its front and rear ends with feet Speciiication ot Letters Patent.

imi-enten aan. is, tiene.

1915. Serial No. 23,377.

or lugs 2, 3 whereby the same may be supported upon a table or elsewhere. Upon the front partof this table is arranged a horizontal platen l upon which the article to be addressed, such as an envelop or letter head. is supported at the printing position while the impression of a stencil is produced thereon. llVhen envelops or the like are being addressed it is preferable to register the same in printing position by engaging the upper edge of the envelop with a top gage 5 arranged on the table 1 immediately adjacent to the rear edge of the platen. as shown in Figs. Q and 4. and also engaging the left hand edge-of the envelop with a side gage 6 which is mounted on the adjacent stationar)1 part of the machine. The upper gage is preferably yfixed but the side gage mavbe adjustable in the vdirection of the length of the envelop b v means of an adjustin(T screw 7 engaging a bracket 10 of a main `Iralne. and passing through a longitudinal slot 9 formed in an arm S on the lside gage. as shown in Fig. 1. A Upon loosening the -screw 7 and Vshifting the side gage lengthwise in one direction or the other the latter may be adjusted to suit the envelops Vwhich are being addressed or to permit of placing' this address on an)7 particular part of the envelop as desired.

Then addressing letter sheets or the like it. is preferable to 'engage the lower edge ol! such sheets with a bottom gage 11 and the left hand edge thereof with the side gage This bottom gage is alsopreferablv capable of adjustment transverselv of the machine and this is preferably accomplished b v securing this gage to a transverse arm 1Q which is secured to the upper side of the platen so as to be capable of transverse adiustment thereon b v means of a screw 13 passing through this platen and a transverse slot 14 in said adjusting arm 12. as shown in Fig. l.

The stencils whereby these addresses are produced mav be vvariouslyconstructed but theiT preferabli7 consist of thin sheets 1'( of stronnA material in which the address pert'orations are produced bypany suitable means and a frame 16 of thicker material upon which the edge of each stencil sheet-is mounted, these stencils being ,preferably of rec- 'ftangular form, as shown in the drawings.

Although these stencils may be placeqloyer the article to be addressed .at the prmtmg .position either manually or automatically the same and also provided at its oppositeL ends with vertical slots 19 for convenience in manipulating the stencils and also en-l abling the operator to observe when the supply of the same is about exhausted and needs .replenishing The lowei end of the magazine is .open so that the stencils can be fed horizontally one at a time from the Linderside of the stack in the magazine. This feeding-oli' mechanism is` so organized that whenever a stencil is fed away from the bottom of the stackthe latter drops by gravityA and brings the next following stencil to the feeding-off position. To facilitate this dropping ofthe stack a weight Q0 is preferably placed on the uppersid'e of this stack, as

shown in Figs. 1, 2, l and 5. In the preferred construction the lower end of the magazine is ai'ranged with its opposite longitudinal edges adjacent to the upper side of two longitudinal guide rails 21 which are also mounted on the supporting arm 1S and operate to direct thostencils from the underside of the magazine to the printing position and then discharge the same at a`point on the opposite side of the table. These rails are preferably constructed in the form of channels whichihave ,their grooved sides facing each other, the distance between the channels of thesef'rails beingv4 equal to the width of a stencil. A, Immediately below the wardly from underneath the pile, the extent of this forward movement of this feeding plate being so determined that the rear edge of the stencil which has just been fed ofi clears the bottom of the pile at the end of the forward stroke of this plate. During its ret-urn strokethe feeding plate again clears thebottom of the pile so as to permit the next following lowermost stencil of the pile to be Idepressed until it rests on the lower flanges of the rails and is arranged in the path ofthe feeding plate preparatory to being fed away from the pile during the next following forward'stroke ofthe plate. .As

' each stencil moves forwardly in the rails the -in a pile. E011 this purpose a receiving magamagazine the upper iianges of the rails are cut away7 as shown at 2:2 in Fig. 7, so that Athe lower end of the magazinecan open directly into the channels of these. rails and permit the lowermost stencil of the pile in the magazine to rest upon the lower flanges 23 of the rails while. the next following upper stencil is arranged above these channels and out of the path of the devices which operate to feed the lowerinost stencil-from the bottom of the pile. This feeding-off device preferably comprises afeeding plate 241 which is'equal in thickness to the stencil frames and is guided at its opposite longitudinal edges in the channels of the rails. lVhile this feeding plate is shifted from underneath the magazine the weight of the stack 'of stencils in the case causes the 'lowermost one tobe pressed against the lower yflanges of the rails. Upon naar@ moving the I f feeding plate forwardly 'the' same engages etv its front edge with' the rear edge ofthe lowermost `stencil and pushes the same forsaine. by engaging its front edge with the rearl edge of the stencil immediately in front of the same, causes the latter Vto be alsoadvanced and shifted `not only to the printing positionbut also to be discharged from the frontendslof the rails which are located at the left hand side of the'table where the stencils after being used at the printing po! f sition are automatically stacked or 'gathered zine 25 is provided which is mounted on the frame at the left hand side ofthe table and whiclrhas an open toparranged adjacent to thede'l'ivery ends of the rails/iso that the stencils are discharged successively from the rails into this'receiving magazine. The bottom of the latter lis closed so as to support this stack of used stencils. The-corners of the receiving magazineare preferably open.

as shown at 26 for convenience in removmg the gathered stack of used ystencils therein and stowing, the same away forfurther use. The undersideof the receiving magazine preferably flush with the undersides of 'the'.

`supporting legs 2,3 'so that the addressing 'l machine may be placed on top of, a table or similar support when it is desired to use it.

As each stencil is arranged over an envelop or` other article at the printing position ,an impression of the saihe'iis produced on this article by means of a priiiting device leo which preferably comprises a flexible .1 or.

elastic printing or impression roller 27 which is'plro'vided on its periphery with a coating of ink so that upon pressing this roller downwardly ywith its inked surface upon the perforated.sheet ofY a stencilthe ink of this impression' roller will be pressed through this stencil and upon the article be.- neatli 'the same so as to leave an address thereon. This impression or priiitingroller may be constructed of rubber or composition in the usual and well knowny manner and is mounted on a horizontal shaft 28 which is journaled lengthwise of the machine in4 a'- 'carriage 29 movable back and forth in a direction transversely of the machine from a positionover the stencil to a position in rear thereof. While in its rearward or inoperative positionthe impression roller 1s sup,

ported upon an ink supply plate. 8O which is mounted on the upper' rear part of the table but separated therefrom by an intervening space and over which the printing or. im

` causing thel same to .produce an impression on the article to be addressed are effected by hand for which purpose the carriage is pro-, vided on its front side with a forwardly projecting handle 3l which is grasped' by the operator. Durmg lts forward and backward movement the printing carriage is guided by means of a yoke which comprises a horizontal top bar 32 secured to 'a lug`33 projecting rearwardlyY from the cent. 'al part of the arriage. and two vertical arms 34, 35 projecting 'downwardly from the top bar, .one of said arms engaging with the side edge of thc inking plate and provided at its lower cud with an inwardly projecting lug 3G which engages with the underside of ythis plate while the other arm engages with the opposite side of the inking plate and the adjacent side of the table and is provided at its lower end with an inwardly projecting lug 37 arranged below thle. table, as shown in Fig. (i. As the printing. carriage ismoved backward and forward the yoke guides the same relatively to the table and-hiking plate. and while the printing carriage is inv its foremost position with the impression roller over the stencil this yoke also forms a fulcrum about which the carriage and the parts mounted thereon .may turn in a vertical plane while the handle 31 is depressed for producing an impression by means of the printing roller through the stencil on the article to beaddressed.`

In order to prevent an excessive pressure from being applied to the printing or impression roller the front part of the frame is provided' with a stop device which preferably consists of an upright post .3S secured to the upper front part ofthe table. as shown in Figs. 1 2 and 4. yUpon depressing the handle of the carriage while the ii'npression roller is over the. stencil this handle engages the upper end-of the stop post 3S and limits the depression thereofso that all of the impressions of the.l stencils on the successivel articles which are being addressed will be uniform.

Afterthe impression roller has been pressed downwardly against a stencil the carriage supporting this roller is again moved backwardly into its rearm-ost position. Theforwar and backward movementofthe carriage may be limited in various Ways.Z for instance, -by means of front andrear stops 39, 4 0 which are secured to the inking plate in position to be engaged by the arms of the guide yoke at the end of the forward and backward stroke of the carriage.

For the 'purpose of replenishing the .inksupply on the surface of the impression.

roller from time to time the upper surface of this roller is engaged by a removable ink supply-roller 41 which latter may be sup- .plied with ink from any suitable source and then this ink supply roller is mounted on the carriage so that its periphery engages with 'the ink delivery or impression roller for supplying the latter with ink. In order to ena-ble this ink supply roller to be conveniently detached from the carriage and re assembled therewith for the purpose of replenishing the' ink supply, this roller is mounted on a shaft 42 the opposite ends of which are adapted to engage with ul'iwardly opening bearing notches or slots 43 inY the end walls of the printing carriage and are also journaledin the opposite arms 44 of a fork which is adapted to rest on the adjacent rear part of the carriagt and provided with a rearwardly projecting handle 45 for manipulating the ink supply roller. `Normally the latter rests by gravity on the impression roller and is turned by the latter so that the ink is not only transferred continuously from the supply roller yto the Vimpression roller but the same is also distributed more or less which distribution is further continued as the impression roller is passed back and forth over the inking plate.

By making the ink supply roller detachable in the manner shown and described the a substantiallyuniform supply of ink and without interrupting the operation of the machine.

Means are provided whereby the forward and backward movement of the printing carriage is Vutilized to automatically move the. stencil feeding plate baclnvardly and forwardly Aand thereby not only avoid the necessity of separately operating the stencil feeding mechanism but alsocausing these parts to operate in harmony with each other and expediting the operation .of addressing envelops or the like. Y

The preferred means for this purpose as shown in the drawings comprises a horizontally swinging lever 4G which is pivoted o'n a bracket 47 projecting laterally toward the right from the. rear part of the Ytable and connected-at its rear end by means of a link 4S with the lower lug 37 of the yoke while its front end is connected by means of a link 49 with the underside of the stencil feeding plate, the pivotal connect-i011 betweenthe last mentioned link of the stencil feeding plate extending through a longitudinal lslot-5.0 ofthe supporting arnnas shown lll) in Figs. l, 23, 4L and 5. Due to this mechanism the feeding plate is caused to .move

ing carriage is moving forwardly from the Y inking plate to the print-ing position the feeding plate is retracted into its rear-most position preparatory to feeding the next stencil from the stack. The feeding of the stencils successively from the underside of the pile to the printing position and from the latter to the receiving magazine is therefore effected automatically and in proper timewith the operation of the printing device so that the operator need pay no attention to the stencils excepting to see that the supply is replenished from time to time, thereby enabling the operator to pay prac- *ically his entire attention to the placing of the .envelops or letter sheets in the proper position on the platen .to receive the impression of the stencil, and thereby not only insure work of uniform quality but also increasing the capacity of the machine accordingly.

I claim as myinvention:

1. An addressing machine comprising a table, a platen adapted tio support an article to be addressed at the printing posit-ion, means for feeding stencils to said platen, an inking plate supported on said table adjacent to said platenbut spaced therefrom, an ink impression roller movable over sa-id inking plate and to and from said printing position, and adapted to press ink through 'the stencil on an article; a carriage supporting said roller and having a handle on its front side and a yoke connected with the rear side of said carriage and having a part slidable between said table and inling plate.

2. An addressing machine comprising a table, a. platen adapted to support aii'article to be addressed at the printing position, an inking plate supported bn said table adjacent to said platen but separated therefrom by an intervening space, an impression roller movable over said inlring plate and to and fromsaid print-ing position, a carriage supporting said roller and having a handle on its front side and a lug on its rear side, and a guideyolre having a top bar arranged above the inling plate and connected with said lug, and two arms projecting from said bar downwardly along opposite edges of said plate and table and one of said arms being provided with a lug projecting underneath saidv plate and the other arm being provided with a lug projecting underneath said table. v y

3. An addressing machine comprising an impression roller adapted to press ink on its surface through a stencil on the article to be addressed, a carriage supporting said roller and provided with upwardly opening bearing notches on its opposite sides, an ink supply roller engaging said impression roller, a shaft on which said ink supply roller isvmounted and which is journaled at its opposite ends .inrsaid bearing notches, and a fork on whichopposite ends of said shafts are journaled and which is provided with a handle.

4. An addressing machine comprising a platen adapted to support an article to be addressed atv the printing position, a magazine adapted to support a stack of stencils, means for guiding, the stencils from said magazine to said printing position, a feed plate movable lengthwise of said4 guide and past the underside of the magazine for feeding the stencils successively from the underside of the stack along the guidewayA to said printing position, an impression roller .enga ging the stencils at the printing position, a carriage supporting said roller and movable toward and from the printing position, and actuating means connecting said cariiage and feed plate and operating to cause the feed plate to move forwardly While the carriage moves rearwardly, and vice versa, and comprising a rock lever and links connecting opposite ends of said lever with said feed plate and carriage, respectively.

' GUY J. EVANS. 

